Headlines

Preview: Flames at Blues

Goalie Brian Elliott will play for Calgary vs. former team for first time since offseason trade, backup Carter Hutton to start for St. Louis

by
Louie Korac
/ NHL.com Correspondent

FLAMES (2-4-1) at BLUES (4-1-1)

8 p.m. ET; SNF, FS-MW, NHL.TV

Flames team scope

Goalie Brian Elliott will start for the Calgary Flames on back-to-back days after a 3-2 shootout victory at the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. Elliott, who was acquired from the Blues in a trade June 24, stopped 32 shots and all seven shootout attempts in Chicago to win for the first time with the Flames. He didn't play against the Blues in a 6-4 loss at Calgary on Saturday. St. Louis native Matthew Tkachuk, the No. 6 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, will dress after being a healthy scratch the past two games; he'll play in front of his parents, Keith and Chantal Tkachuk, and other family and friends. "It means a lot," Tkachuk said. "I looked at the schedule before the year, and I really, really wanted to play. I've got a lot of friends and family, my parents and sister and all that. It's going to be a fun game for them for sure. For me, it's to just go out there and try to put on a good show for everybody that's coming, but most importantly, help out the team." Right wing Troy Brouwer, who spent last season with the Blues, marks his return to St. Louis for the first time along with Elliott. The Flames scored power-play goals against the Blackhawks on each of their first two attempts after starting the season 1-for-25. "I was hoping someone would ask me about the power play," coach Glen Gulutzan said on the Flames' website, "because I've been asked the last six games. We simplified. We made some adjustments on our breakouts that we put in place."

Blues team scope

Goalie Carter Hutton will make his second start with the St. Louis Blues, his first in 10 days. Hutton, who beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Oct. 15, including 15 saves in the third period when the Blues were outshot 15-0, wants to be a good complement to starter Jake Allen. "Just turn that third period into every period," Hutton said. "Just like I've said before, when I get a chance to play, just go out there and do my thing and just compete and battle. I've got a good team in front of me to help me out." Right wing Alexander Steen will play in his 500th game with the Blues on Tuesday. "He's a good pro," coach Ken Hitchcock said of Steen, who has who has 362 of his 488 career points with St. Louis. "He's consistent in his approach to the game, he's consistent in his focus, even when he's not scoring he's as dependable as heck. He's always doing the little things that are contagious throughout the group and when you have a player like that on your team, it feeds right through the lineup, so his attention to detail forces other people to play attention also." The Blues start a three-game homestand that continues against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday and Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Flames' projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Alex Chiasson

Kris Versteeg -- Sam Bennett -- Troy Brouwer

Lance Bouma -- Mikael Backlund -- Michael Frolik

Micheal Ferland -- Matt Stajan -- Matthew Tkachuk

Mark Giordano -- Dennis Wideman

TJ Brodie -- Deryk Engelland

Nicklas Grossmann -- Dougie Hamilton

Brian Elliott

Chad Johnson

Scratched:Freddie Hamilton, Jyrki Jokipakka, Brett Kulak

Injured:Ladislav Smid (neck)

Blues projected lineup

Robby Fabbri -- Paul Stastny -- Alexander Steen

David Perron -- Jaden Schwartz -- Vladimir Tarasenko

Dmitrij Jaskin -- Patrik Berglund -- Nail Yakupov

Scottie Upshall -- Kyle Brodziak -- Ryan Reaves

Jay Bouwmeester -- Alex Pietrangelo

Carl Gunnarsson -- Kevin Shattenkirk

Joel Edmundson -- Colton Parayko

Carter Hutton

Jake Allen

Scratched:Robert Bortuzzo, Ty Rattie, Magnus Paajarvi

Injured:Jori Lehtera (upper body)

Status report

Grossmann and Tkachuk take the place of Jokipakka and Freddie Hamilton. … Jaskin will play after missing practice on Monday with a lower-body injury. Hitchcock said Lehtera, who is on injured reserve, skated on his own for a second straight day Tuesday and if all went according to plan, he'll join the team for practice on Wednesday.

Who's hot

Versteeg, who scored the game-deciding shootout goal Monday, had two goals against the Blues on Saturday. … Perron is coming off his second career four-point game (including his third career hat trick) against the Flames. Tarasenko, Stastny and Steen are averaging a point per game.